Friendship Through the Ages
by lunylovegoodlover
Summary: When Hermione takes her parents to visit the Potter house, Mr. Granger is stunned at Lily's appearance. Old friendships are revealed and new ones are forged as Hermione finds out exactly what the name Lily Evans means to her parents.
1. Chapter 1

"Auntie Moine!" Three-year-old Lily Potter toddled out of her house as fast as her legs could carry her towards her favorite auntie.

"Oh my god," the middle-aged man standing beside Hermione murmured to himself. Nobody heard him, because at Lily's yell, the house erupted into chaos.

A red-haired boy fell off the roof to as his relatives pushed and shoved to get to the edge so they could see if it was really true that Aunt Hermione was there. She laid a cushioning charm on the ground, breaking her son's fall. "James!" she yelled. "What are you lot doing up there?"

"Merlin's pants," the boy murmured. "Nothing!" he hollered down. Hermione just sighed again and decided it wasn't worth it to press him.

At the same time, a redheaded young woman poked her head out from the front door. "Hermione?" she called in relief. "Finally, someone sane!"

She felt a slight tug on her skirt, and looked down into her niece's worried eyes. "Auntie Ginny? I'm sane, aren't I?" There was real worry in five-year-old Rose's voice.

Ginny's eyes softened as she picked up Rose. "Of course you are, dear," she reassured her. "It's just that we girls are outnumbered here."

Rose pondered this. "Are you saying that all boys are insane?" she asked.

Ginny laughed. "Yes, I guess I am, aren't I? We're all insane in our own special way," she said, thinking that crazed mess that was her family.

Outside, Lily had reached her aunt. "Hey, Lily," Hermione said, scooping her niece up in her arms and kissing the top of her head. "I've got some special people I want you to meet today."

"Who?" Lily, always the most curious of the three Potter children, asked.

But before Hermione could answer, a small red-haired boy got up from where he had fallen and started sprinting across the yard, screaming, "GRANDMA MARIE! GRANDPA TOM!" Soon, the entire family (except Harry and Ron, who were on an Auror mission) was gathered in the front yard.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet my parents," Hermione said. "This is Tom and Marie Granger. Mum, Dad, this is James, Albus, and Lily." At the third name, Mr. Granger gave a bit of a gasp. His wife looked at him, but no one else noticed. "And you know Ginny."

"Nice to meet you," James said, looking at the ground. Lily and Albus managed mumbled, "Hi"s.

By the time all the pleasantries were out of the way, everyone had moved back into the house. The boys and Rose disappeared, leaving Lily as the only kid in the room. She snuggled up to her mum as she sucked her thumb.

Soon, Hermione and Ginny were deep into a discussion of wizarding politics. This was just what Mrs. Granger had been waiting for. She pulled her husband aside and asked him what was going on.

"You're acting strange," she said. "You're not paying attention to the conversation, and you keep staring at Ginny."

Mr. Granger shook his head. "Not Ginny," he said. "Lily."

It took a moment, but suddenly, Mrs. Granger understood. "Oh, lord," she whispered.

"It's just a coincidence," he said. "Lily disappeared 30 years ago! If something had happened, someone would have told us..."

Mrs. Granger shook her head. "There was a war going on, Tom! People die in wars. They disappear. People don't get notified."

"Mum? Dad?" Hermione glanced over at them. "Sorry about that. We just got a bit caught up in our discussion. Ginny's got to go put Lily down for her nap, but she'll be right back..." She trailed off, looking at her parents. "What's going on?"

They looked at each other for a moment. _Should we tell her?_ Mrs. Granger's eyes asked. _She's the only one who'll have the information we need,_ Mr. Granger pointed out_._ She nodded.

"Does the name Lily Evans mean anything to you?" Mrs. Granger asked Hermione.

"Lily Evans? Of course it does," Hermione replied. "That's Harry's mum's maiden name. But how do you know that? It's a relatively famous name in the wizarding world, but she's got nothing to do with either of you."

"Nothing to do with either of us?" Mr. Granger said. He let out a sharp bark of laughter. "Not exactly."

Hermione looked again at each of her parents, and led them back to the living room. They sat down on a sofa, and she sat in the chair opposite them. "Tell me," she said. "Please, tell me."

And so they did.


	2. Chapter 2

It started with their parents. They lived next door to each other, and eventually, Mrs. Granger and Mrs. Evans became friends. Their children were the same age, and soon Petunia Evans and Tom and Susan Granger were close friends.

When Petunia's baby sister was born, Tom didn't think much of it. The baby seemed so tiny, so boring. He looked at it, shrugged, and returned to playing with Petunia and Susan.

Then came the age when a girl being friends with a boy was just weird and ewww and wrong. Susan and Petunia pulled away from Tom. The six-year-old was distraught. Now he had nobody to play with!

One day when both families were at the Evans', Tom's mum inadvertently changed his life.

"Tom? If you're not doing anything, Lily could use someone to play with."

For a moment, Tom was shocked. Play with Lily? She probably wanted to play something stupid like dolls. He really, really didn't want to play with her, but he had no choice.

So Tom went up to Lily and said, rather grumpily, "What do you want to do?"

She looked at him shyly. There was a look in her eyes he didn't recognize. It took him a moment to realize it was fear. Lily was scared. Scared of him.

Now, Tom couldn't have that. He may have just been a six-year-old boy, but he had the biggest heart in all of England. So he said, "Do you want to have a snowball fight?"

Lily looked up at him and smiled, and in that moment, Tom knew that he and Lily were going to be best friends forever and ever.

Tom lost that snowball fight. It just sealed their friendship.

For 5 years, they were perfectly happy. They grew up together, considering each other's home their home. They were like brother and sister. They fought, sometimes badly, but by the end of the week they'd always be running off together to some other adventure. Sometimes they would play with Susan and Petunia, but it was on their times together, when it was just the two of them, that they would later remember as some of the happiest times of their lives.

Then, Lily made another friend, Severus Snape. She would go off to talk with him and referred to him as her best friend.

"Tom doesn't count," she'd say when they mentioned him. "He's more than a friend. He's my brother. He's so obvious I don't even consider him one of my friends."

Lily and Tom had some severe fights over Severus, but when Lily went to Hogwarts, everything simplified. She had the school year with Sev, and the vacations with Tom.

Hogwarts was the only secret Lily ever kept from Tom. He had no idea she was regularly encountering the mythological animals of their imaginations. But she didn't lie to him. As far as Tom knew, she just went to a very small, very private school that he wouldn't have heard of, and that she wasn't going to tell him about.

For all this secrecy, there were some things that Tom did know about her school. The summer after her 5th year, his was the shoulder she cried on as she explained to him that Snape had betrayed her. He was her outlet, the one place where she could escape from the war, and, more importantly, from Potter. He was also the first person who knew that the two of them were dating.

Then, a year after Lily finished school, Death Eaters decided to pay her family a little visit. They slaughtered her whole street. Lily was at Potter Manor, the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, when it happened. Petunia was in her new home in Surrey, and Tom was out doing some grocery shopping. Everyone else was home.

When Petunia heard what had happened, she blamed Lily and officially disowned her. She later got a Howler from James about that, but Lily didn't really care. She had given up loving her sister near the end of her time at Hogwarts, when it became clear that Petunia was never going to change her attitude towards magic. Now, it was just another hole to add to her heart.

The only reason Lily survived her parents death was because she knew she had it in her power to get revenge. She doubled her efforts for the Order, hunting down Death Eaters with a passion that was a bit disturbing. She mourned in private, and finally accepted James' marriage proposal.

Around the same time, Tom met Marie Clarke in a therapy session. Marie had also recently lost her entire family to a random attack. The two became friends, then more than that. By the end of the year, they, too, were engaged.

When Lily heard how Tom and Marie had met, she made a decision that she had been debating for a while. She visited Tom's flat at a time when she knew Marie would be there, and told them that she had something very important, and very secret to tell them. It was so secret, they had to make an Unbreakable Vow that they wouldn't tell anyone who didn't already know that they knew until "the Ministry gains some sanity, Voldemort dies, and all the people who know you know are dead." None of this made any sense to Tom or Marie, but they agreed anyway.

Then Lily told them about Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, the war – everything. She answered their questions and, when she left, they were all even closer than they had been before.

The last time Tom saw Lily was early 1980. She looked worn to the bone, and very pregnant. But she greeted him with a smile, and oohed and aahed over baby Hermione. Then, just as she was leaving, she said, "Tom? This is the last time you're going to see me, at least for a while."

"What's going on?" he asked her. "No offense, but you look horrible. Are you still fighting? You shouldn't be; you're pregnant."

She laughed. "You sound like James. I'm fine. It's just…" She hesitated, and then said, "Voldemort's targeting me and James."

Tom looked horrified. "Why you?"

"We don't know. It might not even be us. Dumbledore said there was a chance it was another couple, friends of ours. So we're all going into hiding."

Tom went over to her and took her into her arms. "Don't die," he told her fiercely. "You're the only sister I have left. So don't die, okay? Got that?"

Lily stood on tiptoe so she could kiss his cheek. "I love you, Tom," she whispered. "You're my best friend, my brother, my everything. Remember that." And then, so softly Tom wasn't sure she actually said it, "Remember me." One more kiss on the cheek, and she was gone.

"When I saw Lily today," Mr. Granger finished. "It freaked me out. She looks exactly like my Lily did that day when we became friends. Sure, she's got different eyes, and her hair's a little lighter, but she has the same aura around her. She's just so…Lilyish."

Hermione smile, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you," was all she said.

Over time, the Grangers grew very close to the Potters. They became an official part of the Weasley family. But though they doted on all the children, Lily was always Tom's favorite, even over his own grandchildren. She adored him, and a new generation of friendship was born.


End file.
